“Thanks,” she said, pulling up in bed to accept the mug from him. When their hands brushed, she felt an immediate tingling between her legs. When had she become so lusty that the mere touch from a man would cause sexual hunger to stir to life inside of her? But she knew it wasn’t a touch from any man, just this one.
“Would you like to take a shower with me later?” he asked.
Boy, would she. “I would love that, but other than my gown and panties, I don’t have any other clothes.”
“That won’t be a problem. I have plenty of large T-shirts you can use. Better yet, Deena left some of her clothes here. I’m sure there’s something of hers you can wear. She wouldn’t mind. In fact, I think she would be pleased after orchestrating this entire thing.”
“With Shauna’s help,” Iris added.
He nodded. “I know what Deena is getting out of a Matt and Iris affair. What’s in it for Shauna?” he asked.
“Before I tell you what Shauna is getting out of it, I’d like to know how an affair between us would benefit Deena?”
He eased down in the chair across from the bed. Even doing something as simple as that looked sexy. “I believe the reason Deena is playing matchmaker is because she knows the relationship between her and Alisdare is more serious than either is letting on. Granted, I think they are just friends for now, but I can see that friendship evolving into more, sooner rather than later. And when it does, my daughter will not want me to be alone. She would want me to have someone of my own to care about.”
Iris believed what he said about Alisdare and Deena. Anyone who’d observed them together for any period of time would reach that same conclusion. She’d heard through the grapevine that some of those gambling Westmorelands were taking bets as to how long the “just friends” claim would last.
That other piece of what Matt had said should give her concern. It sounded like Deena thought any affair between Iris and Matt would last forever. It wouldn’t. She would not discuss what was happening between them right now, but it was something they would need to address eventually.
“I think the reason Shauna wants me to find someone has something to do with Garlan.”
“Your son?”
“Yes. He considers Shauna like a big sister. She lived with us for a year after finishing college while pursuing her acting career. At the time, Garlan was in junior high school, and she helped me out by picking him up from a lot of his after-school activities. I think he has confided in Shauna that he feels I don’t have a life, and if I had one I wouldn’t worry so much about any decisions he might make that I disagree with. He doesn’t want me to throw a hissy fit.”
“What kinds of decisions?”
She paused and then said, “I have a feeling Garlan is thinking about leaving Harvard after this semester and transferring elsewhere. For all I know, he might have already applied with plans to change his major and not attend law school.”
Matt took a sip of his coffee. “I recall Garlan mentioning his major going into law school is political science. As you know, students change majors all the time, so it would not surprise me if he did.” He paused. “Deena didn’t decide on going to law school until her junior year. Before then, she considered getting an MBA and working for Dominic in an executive role like my mother did for Marcello.”
The room got silent as she sipped her tea, and then Matt asked, “Would you do that, Iris? Would you throw a hissy fit if Garlan decided not to go to law school?”
After taking a sip of her tea, she said, “No.”
“Then why does he think you would? Are you the one who pushed him into attending law school?”
“No. It was his idea. A few summers ago, after spending time in Westmoreland Country, he returned home and said that he thought it was cool that Canyon was an attorney. He accompanied Dillon to court and observed Canyon in action. From that experience, Garlan was sold and wanted to become an attorney.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Matt said. “When we played poker that night at Westmoreland Country, Canyon Westmoreland said he’d wanted to follow in his brother Micah’s footsteps and become a doctor. However, after two years of medical school, he knew a healthcare career wasn’t for him and switched to law school. That’s a prime example of it not being too late to change a career choice.”
“I know that, Matt, and I don’t have a problem with Garlan changing his mind if that’s what he wants to do.”
“Then maybe you need to ask yourself why he thinks you would have a problem with it. Maybe you should have a talk with him and assure him that you don’t.”
Iris didn’t say anything for a long moment as she thought about what Matt had suggested. “You’re right. That’s why I intend to have a heart-to-heart discussion with him when he comes home for Thanksgiving. Hopefully, we can get everything out in the open then.”
She placed her mug on the nightstand and glanced over at him. Why did he have to look so sexy sitting in that chair, shirtless and just in his pj’s? “Are you expecting Deena to drop by today?”
“Nope. In fact, while making my coffee and your tea, she called to let me know that she and Shauna plan to hang out with Charm today and do a lot of shopping. She said she would see me in the office tomorrow. She also mentioned we made the tabloids.”
“So, I heard. Pam mentioned it, too.”
“Dang, news travels fast. How did she hear about it all the way in Denver?”
“Paige. As you know, she was an actress before marrying Jess, and she still subscribes to some of those newspapers to stay up-to-date on what’s happening in Hollywood. Do you have a problem that the media is trying to make a big deal out of what happened?”
He shrugged and smiled. “You did kiss me.”